Ababu’s uneasy relation with ODM leaders raises questions about his future in the party

Could Ababu Namwamba, the Secretary General of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), be charting a new political path ahead of the 2017 General Election?

In an interview with The Standard on Sunday, the Budalang’I MP left little doubt that he was on a mission to craft political networks outside the ODM orbit, a development that has put party bigwigs on high alert.

He revealed that he has kept his political options open, saying that he will only make a move based on the political dynamics of the times ahead. He said he was re-activating his personal, diplomatic and political networks.

“I have friends, very good friends, in some interesting places here and there. Is it wrong for a man to visit his friends?” Namwamba explained.

A number of his close allies argue that the ODM secretary general position is a poisoned chalice meant to trap and destroy him politically. Namwamba’s last major activity within ODM, at least in the public domain, was when he suspended Kisumu County Assembly Majority Leader Samuel Ong’ow and his deputy John Olum on April 29. He ordered that the two be probed for misconduct.

Dismissed reports

A week before that, there had been reports that Namwamba, who had been ousted as Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman, was to have his position as party SG discussed at an ODM National Executive Committee meeting at Maanzoni Lodge in Machakos County.

Namwamba dismissed the reports. ODM executive director Oduor Ong’wen also came out strongly to pour cold water on the same. Ong’wen argued that Namwamba’s problems in PAC were not party problems, and that there was no way they could have been discussed at the NEC retreat.

Nairobi County ODM chairman George Aladwa, who, like Namwamba, hails from Western Kenya, had then cautioned that ousting the MP from his party position would affect party leader Raila Odinga’s support in the region.

But the last one month has seen Namwamba detached from ODM activities. He was absent at the launch of Party Leader Raila Odinga’s website and SMS platform. He also stayed away from the launch of the ODM relief services in the city, in whose preparation he said he was not involved.

There were reports that Raila had tapped Funyula MP Paul Otuoma for an alleged CORD Summit. Both Namwamba and Otuoma come from Busia County and were both interested in the party secretary general’s position. But the Budalang’i MP has dismissed the Summit talk as mere speculation.

“I have spoken to Otuoma and there is nothing like that. The formation of a Summit is mere speculation,” Namwamba said.

Reached by The Standard on Sunday, Otuoma avoided commenting directly on whether he was a member of the said Summit, only saying he still believed in the ideals of the Orange party. He said he would be part of any formation that would help ODM and CORD realise its political goals come 2017.

Hosted meeting

Two weeks ago, Namwamba arrived in Nairobi from a high profile two-week trip to Europe. He then headed straight to a meeting with 30 envoys under the Development Partners Group that include European Union countries, the United States, Canada, United Nations and the African Development Bank.

The meeting was hosted by Accountability Kenya, a multi-agency oversight body chaired by the MP. The meeting held at Nairobi’s Heron Portico Hotel also drew in the Kenya National Audit Office, the Office of the Controller of Budget, County Assemblies Forum chairman Nuh Abdi and Ethics and Anti-Corruption Corruption Commission chief executive Halakhe Waqo, among others.

It was not lost on observers that as Ababu engaged the ambassadors, the ODM leadership, including Raila and deputy party leader Hassan Joho, were launching the “Orange Relief” initiative at their Orange House headquarters, only a few kilometres away.

But Namwamba chose to play down the engagement and clash in dates for the two events: “The AK meeting with the diplomats was planned a month ago before I left the country. I went to the meeting straight from the JKIA. It is a mere coincidence that Orange Relief was being launched the same day. In any case, I was not aware of that programme, having been away for two weeks.”

Global connections

Whatever the case, Namwamba’s ability to rally together such numbers of diplomats has set tongues wagging, coming as it did hot on the heels of a highly successful European tour where he held meetings with top ranking officials, including Icelandic President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson.

Namwamba, who studied in Washington DC in the USA, is reputed to have intricate global connections, owing to his background as an international law expert. But the big question is exactly why he is activating these networks now?

While in Iceland, Namwamba’s talks centred on political partnerships, the work of Accountability Kenya and the activities of his charity, the 12-year-old Ababu Namwamba Foundation.

The cold political relationship between Namwamba and some of the other ODM leaders can be traced to the fierce fight for party leadership which climaxed at the Kasarani men-in-black infamy. The bad blood seems to have intensified following his ouster as the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee chairman.

Namwamba, who insists he is above reproach, strongly believes his ouster was the work of political machinations aided by corruption networks. He sees the hand of some ODM luminaries in his woes, with his supporters being quick to question why the party leader did not come out strongly to defend his secretary general.

Some of his supporters have urged him to quit ODM and find another political vehicle.

“The PAC wars were only the start of a scheme whose ultimate aim is to attack his character, destroy his reputation then finally humiliate him by pushing him out Magerer-style, on the pretext that he has lost the credibility to lead ODM,” argues Vihiga County Assembly’s ODM nominated member Ben Ombima, a Namwamba ally from Western Kenya.

But where would Namwamba head?

His allies maintain their man has plenty of options, and that President Uhuru Kenyatta is eyeing him as a possible “friend of Jubilee” in Western Kenya. Last year, on September 7, Uhuru led a charm offensive to Budalang’i, where he promised a raft of goodies, including the crucial Sigiri Bridge whose construction is due to commence next month.

Word has it that Amani National Congress Leader Musalia Mudavadi is also eager to team up with the fiery legislator.

Before departing for Europe, Namwamba had stepped up the activities of the Western Parliamentary Caucus, a grouping of 42 MPs from Western Kenya that has set its agenda as the revival of the economic fortunes of the Western region.

It is believed the caucus is part of his new game plan, and it will be interesting to watch Namwamba’s political moves in the coming days.